MADRID – 24 July 2018 – On the occasion of the two-year countdown to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Olympic Channel and the Japan Consortium debuted Olympic Channel-branded digital platforms across multiple outlets further engaging local audiences with the Olympic Movement all year round.

The newly launched digital platforms will offer fans Olympic-themed programming from around the world in Japanese, with an emphasis on their favourite Japanese athletes, teams and sports under the “Olympic Channel” brand.

In addition to locally-produced features, video content will include Olympic-themed original series and documentaries produced by filmmakers from around the world commissioned by the global Olympic Channel.

Long-form content includes films from the Olympic Channel signature series “Five Rings Films” such as “The Nagano Tapes” which tells the story behind the classic men´s ice hockey tournament of the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, where professional players from the NHL participated in the Games for the first time.

Short-form content includes entertaining episodes of “Before They Were Superstars” featuring gymnast Kohei Uchimura; “The Tech Race”, which showcases the technological tools that play a role in helping athletes to perform at an elite level; and “Day Jobs” highlighting ice hockey player Ami Nakamura who spends two hours each day commuting to her job in retail before heading to the rink for practice.

The Olympic Channel and the Japan Consortium previously announced a strategic distribution partnership which launched in March 2018 that includes linear programming and branded Olympic Channel hours across the networks within the Japan Consortium.

“With Tokyo 2020 just two years away, we look forward to further developing our partnership with the Japan Consortium across multiple platforms in our collective efforts to build excitement for the upcoming Olympic Games through relevant and engaging content to viewers across the country,” said Mark Parkman, General Manager of the IOC’s global Olympic Channel.

The Japan Consortium commented: “We, the Japan Consortium, are looking forward to building a sense of excitement and developing an atmosphere through various means toward Tokyo 2020 that our country is hosting. We expect the Olympic Channel, the new partnership with the IOC, will lead to a great success.”

The partnership with the Japan Consortium complements the Olympic Channel, which launched as a worldwide digital platform following the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Through collaborations with the IOC’s rights-holding broadcast partners, the Olympic Channel is developing localised versions leading to more personalised experiences for Olympic fans around the world.

The Japan Consortium, which includes NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and JBA (Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association), is the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) rights holding broadcast partner in Japan through 2024.

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